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Aquamarine is a variety of beryl. It is a relatively common mineral that mostly occurs in pegmatite rocks and is often found together with the ordinary beryl. The biggest deposits were found in Brazil, Colombia, United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Russia, India and Pakistan.
Aquamarine with Muscovite
Aquamarine forms pyramidal crystals that can be quite large. Its color ranges from pale blue and transparent turquoise to bluish-green and depends on the concentration of the iron particles within the hexagonal crystalline structure of beryl. Heat is often applied to improve the color of aquamarine crystals. The bluish-greenish hue is responsible for the stone's name which comes from the Latin "aqua marina" or sea water.
The stone was well known and valued in Antiquity. It was regarded as a symbol of peace and tranquility. Aquamarine jewelry was highly prized not only for its beauty, but also for its protective value especially for sailors and those …

by Annie B. Bond
Despite the fact that your ego hates unpredictability, the truth is that you have benefited from it again and again. Think for a moment about the unexpected opportunities that have come your way, offers of help you never anticipated, sudden brainstorms and inspirations, impulsive decisions to move or to talk to a stranger that opened new horizons. This is the natural way to live. “Your life is already organized within itself,” Merlin said. “Life flows from life, the bud unfolds into the flower, the child ripens into the adult. Trust in each stage, celebrate it, and allow the next one to come to you effortlessly.”

The Parable of the Raft is probably one of the most famous parables taught by the Buddha. He compared his own teachings to a raft that could be used to cross the river, but should be discarded when one made it safely to the other shore. A man is trapped on one side of a fast-flowing river. Where he stands, there is great danger and uncertainty - but on the far side of the river, there is safety. But there is no bridge or ferry for crossing. So the man gathers logs, leaves, twigs, and vines and is able to fashion a raft, sturdy enough to carry him to the other shore. By lying on the raft and using his arms to paddle, he crosses the river to safety.The Buddha then asks the listeners a question: “What would you think if the man, having crossed over the river, then said to himself, ‘Oh, this raft has served me so well, I should strap it on to my back and carry it over land now?’”The monks replied that it would not be very sensible to cling to the raft in s…

can we put an end to our suffering?
One of my favorite Zen parables wisely talks about letting go of things. For many of us this is a very difficult task. Our minds crave permanence and we try to hold on to things without even realizing that our attachments are the main cause of our suffering. We define ourselves through our experience and through our memories. Without them we feel invisible, insignificant. For as long as we can hold on to something we feel we exist. Even if it is pain of a past experience, a disease, or a loss of a loved one. We seem to know who we are and which way we are going, even if the pain is tearing us apart.

Two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young and very attractive woman. She was in despair. She had to cross the river, but was afraid to do so. The current was too strong and she was afraid of drowning. Without hesitation, the older monk picked her up onto his shoulders and carried her across the river. Arriving safel…

Can a math equation or a physical theory be beautiful?
By Gabriel Ferrero
The story goes that once somebody asked Einstein what he would think if it was discovered that the theory of relativity - one of his great contributions to science - was incorrect. Apparently, the great physicist answered that in this case “God lost the opportunity to do something really beautiful”. He obviously had no self-esteem troubles. But the adjective “beautiful” can be even more striking.

Many people, legions of high school students among them, often ask themselves how somebody can love and even consider math equations or physical theories beautiful. Curiously enough, though, it is quite common to hear a mathematician say that a theorem has a “very elegant” demonstration, or a physicist praise “the beauty” of a theory. I myself have often rejected the solution I have found for a physical-mathematical problem because I found it “ugly”.

Or how Zen can help us to stay focused and calm in adverse circumstances
Happiness can mean so many different things. It is one of those ephemeral categories that elude definition in absolute terms. People seem to set their individual standards for happiness and make judgments from their own point of view. And while some people run ceaselessly from one experience to another in hope of finding the ultimate happiness, others appear to be quite content with what they have. But what happens when apparently happy people experience adversity?

Last year in January a cupboard in my kitchen came off the wall and crashed on the floor together with my china and my collection of glasses. I was in the bathroom. I heard some noise, but thought that my neighbor had dropped something. Later, when I went to the kitchen, I could not believe my eyes. I could not enter the kitchen because the entrance was blocked by the damaged piece of furniture and the china and glass that was scattered all over the ki…

Amethyst is a variety of quartz (silicon dioxide) that contains more iron oxide than any other variety of quartz. Iron is responsible for the stone's purple hue that may range from very light, almost transparent, pinkish lavender to deep, very dark violet. The color of amethyst appears as a result of irradiation which causes the iron particles to rearrange themselves in the crystal lattice. The color fades away if the stone is exposed to a direct sunlight.

Amethyst is one of the most widely spread minerals. It can be found the USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, parts of East Africa, South Africa, South Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Austria, and Russia.
Amethyst forms beautiful geodes, clusters as well as individual, prismatic crystals.
Amethyst has been used for thousands of years in healing rituals, for psychic empowerment and in magic. Ancient Egyptians used amethyst as a gemstone, while the Greeks believed that it could prevent intoxication. The stone is mentioned in the Bible.…

by Dominique Allmon Belgian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate, Ilya Prigogine made an assertion that uncertainty is inherent cosmic expression deeply embedded in the core of reality. For a human being this uncertainty can result in anxiety. This isn't a modern phenomenon. The Buddha discussed the matter and taught detachment.
Impermanence... In our fast-paced lives change seems to be the only tangible constant. Everything is changing, sometimes faster than we would wish to. We never know what may come next. We try to hold on to things, images, feelings, people... But nothing really lasts unchanged long enough and we are never certain how things will unfold. This uncertainty creates anxiety. Uncertainty is deeply embedded in the core of reality. We intuitively understand that we cannot hold on to things and yet, wish that they last at least a little longer if not forever. We want that they remain unchanged unless, of course, they are painful and "bad" for u…

Healing requires far more of us than just the participation of our intellectual and even our emotional resources. And it certainly demands that we do more than look backwards at the dead-end archives of our past.

Healing is, by definition, taking a process of disintegration of life and transforming into a process of return to life.

Happiness can mean many different things to different people. Generally, happiness is understood as a state of mind that is associated with feelings ranging from satisfaction and comfort to bliss and intense joy.

People often believe that they will become happy when a particular event occurs in their lives: when they make enough money, meet the right partner, or get the right job...
It cannot be denied that things can make our lives more pleasant and less stressful. They can give us some degree of satisfaction and we may derive pleasure from things that we wanted very much and finally received, but such pleasure is momentary and never really lasts long enough to keep us perpetually happy. As the joy and excitement wear out, we experience the need for something that would give us at least as much satisfaction. We are in a hurry to replace the old things with new. We search for a new gratifying experience. This process repeats itself over and over and we end up in a vicious cycle alwa…